Here and There

Method

When you have a choice of using 'here' or 'there', for example in 'here you
are' or 'there it is', choose the version that will have the impact you desire
based on the principles that:

Here

There

Near

Far

Psychologically close to me

Psychologically close to you

Informal

Formal

Empathetic

Separate

Example

Friendly: 'Oh, here you are, good to see you.'
Formal: 'Oh, there you are, good to see you.'

Close:'Here is it, come and get it.'Distant: 'There it is, take it.'

Discussion

We perceive many things in terms of space and location, especially relative to
ourselves. When we say 'here', we are perceptually locating something close to ourselves.
When we say 'there' we are locating it away from ourselves.

When I locate something 'here', I am mentally placing it close to me, within
my
personal space. So if I
say 'Here you are' as I hand something to a person, I am also placing the person
close to me. This indicates that I
trust and like them perhaps a bit more than
if I used the more distant 'There you are'. This is seldom a conscious choice
and you may be able to do some subtle mind-reading by noticing which is used.

So should you always use 'here'? Possibly not, as the person may not want to
be close to you. Maybe they have higher status and maybe they do not yet trust
you. As well as being psychologically more distant, 'There you are' is slightly
more formal and respectful and may be more appropriate to use with strangers and
superiors.

This pattern continues with other 'here' and 'there' phrases, such as
'here/there it is'.

If you are going to meet a friend at a coffee shop and arrive first, you
could send them a message saying either 'I'm here' or 'I'm there'. A difference
between these is the perspective you are taking. Saying 'I'm here' is from your
perspective, though the other person still thinks of it as 'there'. So saying
'I'm there' is perhaps a little more considerate, displaying
empathy and
reducing the cognitive effort they have to make.

If you are looking for something, when you are close to it and the other
person is further away, you would most likely say 'Here it is' to indicate its
proximity to you. If it is not close to you, then you would point and say 'There
it is'. This is less personal and more about indicating physical distance rather than
psychological distance. Such are the vagaries of language, you could even used
'Here/there you are' in this treasure hunt. The difference now is that, as the
human hook of 'you' has been added, the 'here/there' psychological distancing
becomes more significant.